Migrants left in limbo as TRA postpone Migration Assessment Policy

Thousands of migrants have been left in limbo as the Trades Recognition Authority (TRA) postpone the release of the new Migration Assessment Policy (MAP)

The new MAP stood as the most recent initiative that offered hope to migrants currently stranded without a path into Australia.

MAP would essentially consist of two streams; Stream A and Stream B. Stream A would assess those workers trained and qualified in Australia, while Stream B would assess internationally trained or qualified skilled workers.

Within each stream, workers would be assessed for either their former vocational training or formal skills recognition, and their term of employment using that skill. Additionally, the term of employment would be reduced from five years to four, which would allow for less experienced or younger workers to qualify for skilled migration to Australia.

The announcement date for the introduction of MAP was originally going to be at the beginning of this month (1st September), however the TRA postponement has delayed the announcement indefinitely which is bad news for many wannabee Aussies who saw some hope in the new policy.

A recent announcement from the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) stated:

The MIA has been consulting with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR] and Trades Recognition Australia [TRA] about a replacement for “Pathway D” that would allow the migrant entry of more tradespeople to Australia to address ongoing and urgent skill shortages.

The MIA made substantial representations to government and was the first industry body consulted on this issue. As a result, the MIA advised members on 27 June 2008 of TRA’s intention to introduce the new Migration Assessment Policy on 1 September 2008.

Unfortunately, implementation of the new arrangements had to be deferred and TRA has now advised us that a second draft MAP will be issued in the near future and further consultation with stakeholders will follow.

The development of the revised MAP and consultations have been complicated by a recent move of the TRA within DEEWR – now located within the division responsible for the VET sector.
We look forward to the second draft and the opportunity for further consultation before the end of September. Members will be kept advised of developments.

Other then being a great excuse to introduce lots and lots of acronyms into a statement, what this means in its purest form is that nothing will happen before the end of September as a minimum. :(

Involvement of the vocational education and training sector in the supervising Department means that the standards for acceptable education/assessment pathways will probably be outlined in more detail which could be a good thing. However the delay will be seen as very bad news for some.